Denise Richards Revisits Her ‘Awful’ Charlie Sheen Marriage & Divorce: ‘I Had No Choice’

For years, Denise Richards stayed largely quiet about one of the toughest chapters of her life. Now, the actress is opening up with fresh honesty, explaining why she ended her marriage to Charlie Sheen while pregnant and how the two eventually found common ground as co-parents.

Denise Richards reflects on her marriage to Charlie Sheen and divorce

Looking back during an appearance on Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast, Richards revealed that filing for divorce wasn’t a decision she wanted to make but was one she believed she had to. Asked why she left Sheen when she was six months pregnant to rebuild her life, Richards replied, “I had no choice.”

She explained that she felt she “had to get out” and admitted she had never publicly shared those feelings before. Although the former couple briefly reconciled afterward, she realized “this wasn’t going to work.”

Richards also reflected on the man she first fell in love with, saying he wasn’t the same person the public later came to know. When they met, Sheen had been “sober” for more than four years, attended Alcoholics Anonymous and was, in her words, “very calm” and nurturing. “That’s who I fell in love with,” she said, stressing that she didn’t believe she had “reformed a bad boy” as many assumed.

Despite their difficult split, Richards said time has softened the relationship. She said they have a “great relationship” today, built around their daughters, Sami and Lola. While she can joke with Sheen and says they respect one another, she pushed back on the idea that they’re best friends. “I wouldn’t say best friends. We’re friends,” she clarified, adding that she’ll always love him as the father of their children, but “as far as romantic love” goes, she said, “No. Not at all.”

Richards acknowledged that co-parenting wasn’t always smooth and said she has often tried to keep their personal conflicts away from their daughters. She also revealed that the recent Netflix documentary about Sheen stirred emotions because “there’s a lot that he did not know” about what she endured while navigating that period of her life.

Source: Comingsoon.net